News

Support The Pink House just wrapped up another year of fun in the sun and community outreach as part of Yankee Homecoming 2017!

It was another truly rewarding experience for us, as steering committee members & volunteers manned our Pink House tent as part of the 10 day Artisan’s Revival at Newburyport’s Annual Yankee Homecoming Festival.

We are so proud to be a part of this festival, as well as a part of the Revival, which aims to return the festival to its roots by including (exclusively) local artisans, vendors, and community groups like us. The Inn St Artisan’s Revival was founded by local photographer & visionary John Brown, and this year it included some wonderful additions such as a night of Greek music & dancing in the square by the Greek Food Festival tent, new local food vendor additions including Metzy’s Taqueria, and dozens of fantastic local artisans & live music performances

We also formed a special partnership with The Elephant’s Trunk this year, who graciously invited us to set up our tent right outside their shop, where they were featuring the whimsical & sophisticated Pink House clothing line, designed by artist Ron Emmerling.

​Highlights of the week included an impromptu lemonade stand created by two young Pink House supporters and their grandmother, the new additions to our clothing & merchandise line including the fabulous dog bandanas, the newly designed t-shirts, the stories we were able to tell booth visitors about the history of the house, and most importantly connecting with visitors and telling them all about the progress we’ve made.

But the thing that puts a smile on our faces more than anything is hearing the stories about The Pink House from visitors to our booth, who just light up telling us what it means to them! It’s what reminds us why we do all this, and just how special and memorable this iconic house is to fans of all ages.

This is our second year having a Pink House booth at Yankee Homecoming!

We have quite a bit of Pink House merchandise to help raise funds for operating costs, which this year includes the cost of appraising the house as we work on finding a new owner, putting together a package to shop the house to organizations and legal fees to name a few.

Stop by for our NEW 2017 TEE SHIRTS (and best to snag your limited edition 2016 tee seen in the pic below for a reduced price of $15- ask Eric the designer selling them the story- before they are gone. SURE to be collectors items!).

A few folks stop by early on the first day of Yankee Homecoming.Photo by Eric Hoover

Make a donation and sign our petition to show you support keeping landmarks like the Pink House in our area! Photo by Eric Hoover

Come on DOWN to visit us, sign our petition, buy a bumper sticker, grab a Koozie, Pink House cards and art, a scarf or tie, our tee shirts or make a donation. We'll be there through August 7th! If you'd like to volunteer with Support the Pink House, Fill out our short form at the Yankee Homecoming table or right here on our website under the drop down menu tab CONTACT.

Since summer means many people are either traveling themselves or have guests visiting, we will wait until Fall to resume out monthly meetings.

Support the Pink House is having lots of meetings behind the scenes to help secure The Pink House and move the ball forward. On top of that, we just had a Fundraiser at Flatbread Amesbury and now are preparing for ten days at our second annual Yankee Homecoming booth on Inn Street as part of the Artisans Revival.

Anyone interested in volunteering at our Yankee Homecoming booth for 2 hour stints, please write to us at info@SupportthePinkHouse.com or message us on FB at Support The Pink House! We have slots available on days from 9:30-8 PM from 7/31 to 8/7! ​

Support the Pink House had their monthly meeting at PITA Hall on Plum Island last night, May 24, 2017. Steering Committee members were delighted to welcome a host of new attendees who had come from greater surrounding towns from Haverhill to Ipswich and Rowley and Seabrook along with those who attend from Newbury, W. Newbury and Newburyport, etc...

The theme of this meeting was the history of the Pink House, which surprisingly is so rich, it is far from completed.

Seen front in the blue shirt is writer Stewart Lytle, who has been a very supportive in faithfully attending meetings and reporting on the considerable progress we've been making. He writes cover articles above the fold on Support the Pink House for the Town Common paper and we really appreciate it!!

The group turns from the screen at front, where they saw a slide show of the interior of the house and a video of what it's like to be in the cupola to listen to the input of Steering Committee members sitting at the side table: Building and Land Specialist David Dempsey, Founder and Research Director Alison Odle, Creative Director and Artist Leison Eric Hoover, and Rochelle Joseph, Chair and Outreach.

Then everyone returned their attention to the flat screen at front to listen to a very intriguing mix of found facts and questions raised by Volunteer and Researcher Extraordinaire Sandy Tilton and Alison Odle -- who also put together a really great Powerpoint presentation to support their findings. Stay tuned as they continue their ace detective work to follow all they've unearthed to the end of the story.

A coffee table book will likely be made including their findings along with all the incredibly photos and paintings of the Pink House that our members and artists near and far have done on this amazing little icon. Check out the many photos posted on our Facebook pages: Save the Pink House Discussion Group and Support the Pink House.

Plumfest got a beautiful day yesterday for it's island-wide community party. Bands set up on various porches around Plum Island and from noon to 6:00 pm, people ride bikes, drive, take a shuttle buses or walk to enjoy them. The biggest place people can park is the historic Plum Island Airport, where bus after bus lines up to take folks who come from surrounding towns. Support the Pink House felt this was an ideal place to be available to tell folks about the Pink House - which they were about to drive by! We collected signatures in support of keeping her in the community, sold a few tee shirts and bumper stickers - all in the service of raising awareness of her plight, and our successes at working to save her.

PH volunteers collected signatures and set up our table at the PI airport where most people parked and took busses. Photo by Rochelle Joseph

Photo by Rochelle Joseph

Volunteer Pandora Hoover told us this cute sticker story: A very generous lady overpaid for a shirt and two stickers.A bus let off weary but happy people. A three-year-old, who clearly loved the color pink, departed from the crowd and circled around the table. I complimented this cherub's shocking pink sneaks and asked her mom if I could give her an official PH sticker? Mom apologized for being out of cash. "No problem! The lady before you gave extra!" The look on the little girl's face when mom gave it to her was priceless! She carried it with two hands! You've got a new, albeit young, Pink House fan! ​

Volunteer Karen in the pink cap was amazing at getting signatures and telling folks getting on the busses to Plumfest all about the Pink House.

A second Pink House presence was at the Beachcoma, a great bar and restaurant where we knew everyone on the island would stop at some point in the day. From there we could point out PITA Hall across the street where our monthly meetings are, and anyone who didn't head in to the Coma to see our brochures and stickers on their hostess table right inside the front door, would see the same offered at the Cottage and PI Provisions all within steps of where we were. We are SO appreciative of the island-wide support of our efforts to keep our iconic Pink House standing in the area. It's one of the things that makes the area so special...

Most of the bands play at the houses on Northern Blvd- so it was wonderful when volunteer Gail Whitley called to say she'd love to collect signatures but she was having a band on her own porch - in addition to a tent for Life if Good products. Then she offered that we put a signature clipboard and our brochures on the Table and said to bring a second clipboard so she could walk around and get signatures of those who stopped at her own house! THAT is going the extra mile and we so appreciate that kind of

Photo by Rochelle Joseph

Photo by Rochelle Joseph

All in all it was a wonderful day - the sun was out and there is such a feel good, community vibe on the entire island. Support the Pink House collected nearly 400 signatures and passed out many brochures.

There they are! Smiling pals Diane DiGregorio Smith and Sandy Tilton, two volunteers we love, who have been there from the VERY START of Support The Pink House. They are often the first to raise their hands, or show up and boy do they take charge and do a great job!

During a lovely sunset this evening, Diane and Sandy, joined by Rochelle Joseph, stood outside a book signing held at the Maratime Customs House (who are kind enough to carry our brochures on their card rack too) during Preservation Week, collecting signatures and passing out our newly updated brochures. Since this event brings people who are interested in history, architecture, and its preservation, we felt that is a perfect group who would want to know about the work we are doing to save The Pink House.

This week happens every spring, and the Newburyport Preservation Trust is active all year. This from their website:

Preservation Week is an annual community-wide event sponsored by the Newburyport Preservation Trust to celebrate the city's unique architectural legacy. The Newburyport Preservation Trust is a membership organization that brings together people who value the preservation of Newburyport's period architecture, neighborhood ambiance, heritage landscapes, and authentic historic character. The all-volunteer organization educates, informs, and advocates through its programs, projects, publications, and presence, and is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

Both gals came looking pretty in pink - and Sandy is wearing our limited edition Save the Pink House tee shirt (you can get yours by calling Designer and Steering Committee Member Eric Hoover at NBPTART.com at 978-726-7116 or emailing him at ericdouglashoover@gmail.com). Those three pink rectangles mimic the pink house windows which turn pink at every sunset and sunrise and there is a graphic of TPH on the back! Get yours now!

On Wednesday March 29th Support the Pink House held their monthly meeting, and it was jam packed with positive updates on all parts that are forming the future of the Pink House.

The tireless Steering Committee - Alison Odle, Rochelle Joseph, Eric Hoover, David Dempsey - has been hard at work this winter:

Bill Barrett speaks to the group about his second annual walk through of The Pink House as Rochelle Joseph and the Steering Committee and Secretary/Press Liaison Holly Cassidy look on. Photo by Jivonne Alley

Bill Barrett, Newbury resident, trusted builder and STPH member, and Pink House Chair Rochelle Joseph were granted an inside look of the house and photographed and filmed parts of it. We were able to see the condition of the interior, as well as cursory inspection of the buildings foundation & framing. This was exciting as few have been allowed into The Pink House, especially since it was purchased by the US Fish and WIldlife Service in 2011.

Barrett’s review was that the interior remains in surprisingly good shape, with minimal water damage and mold. Her "bones - the structure - is sound. All good news for restoration of the exterior in order to preserve the house.

Rochelle also reported that the Refuge has agreed to clear vegetation 3 feet away from the house to allow for airflow and keep additional spring growth from causing damage. Both the walk-thru and taking care of the invasive vegetation are positive signs that the Refuge is listening to the Support the Pink House cause. Certainly the support for STPH from local, state and federal representatives was a huge step forward! Joseph is working on other line items for the Refuge to further protect the house. Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on that.

David Dempsey points out the various land options on a map of the area. Photo by Jivonne Alley

Pink House Land Specialist David Dempsey explained the latest on current options on the table for land trade, in order to secure the 2-acres +/- of land upon which the Pink House sits from the 7-acres plus of wetlands behind the house.

​The group is also exploring the potential uses for the Pink House:

PUBLIC USE (eg. museum, community venue):Ruled out since would require too many changes to both the interior andexterior of the house in order to make it handicap accessible, as well parking requirements & high liability.

LOW-IMPACT RENOVATION (eg. art, science):All agree that the ideal use would be to find an organization or university that would be interested in using the house as a base for oceanographic, marsh, barrier-island, etc field research. There are examples of similar uses in the area (eg. the Marine Biological Laboratory has both purchased and rented from the ECGA since 1992 for field operations). With a low-impact use another party would come to the table with their own source of funding, as well would provide increased improvements to the building for their use rather than simply shoring-up the shell.

With a great slide show and video from inside the cupola, Rochelle walked us through the interior of the house. Some terrific architectural character still remains, a pleasant surprise was found by minimal water damage, and the views from the house are as stunning as everyone imagined.

Pink House Chair and Spokesperson Rochelle Joseph takes attendees through a visual walk through of the house with photographs and video she took. Photo by Jivonne Alley

Sandy Tilton is tracing the lineage of the Pink House, and separating fact from stories past down. She has begun gathering great information on past owners and will be reaching out via social media, etc to try to connect with anyone that may have information or photos that they can share it.

Resident, Volunteer and Researcher Extraordinaire Sandy Tilton kept people spellbound with tales of the Pink House's history. She is working with Founder Alison Odle who is spearheading the project, which will serve many purposes, one of which she hopes will become a Pink House book. Photo by Jivonne Alley

Volunteer opportunities! Anyone new to the group was asked for contact info, and a few upcomingneeds are on the table:BROCHURES:New brochures are being printed and will need to be distributed to surrounding communities.Welcoming ideas on locations +/or volunteers to distribute.

YANKEE HOMECOMING (July 30 -August 6);Volunteer for a shift at the Inn Street booth/table during the week to raise awareness, collect donations, sell merchandise and (hopefully) grow the group.

FUNDRAISER;Mark your calendar for Tuesday, July 11 at Flatbread Amesbury! A portion of proceeds for all pizzas sold (dine-in and take-out) will be donated by Flatbread Co of Amesbury.

To find out more, be notified of upcoming meetings +/or to volunteer LIKE the Facebook page AND fill out the CONTACT US info!

We are grateful to our most AWESOME volunteer Jivonne Alley, who is our guest blogger this month, for doing such great job condensing the formidable information from the two hour meeting and for taking fantastic photos all along the way.

We've been VERY PRODUCTIVE through the dark winter days. Theres been a lot of progress shift us to the next level in these dark winter days - and there is much to tell!! ​This month we will have talk about our second annual walk through of the house with Bill Barrett, our HIC/CSL builder and a long time local resident, as well as the Refuge Manager.

​BONUS: We will present a small slideshow of showing some of the house inside, a rare glimpse of the mysterious and beloved landmark. And we hope to show you a video of what it's like to be in the cupola - taken on one of the windiest days of the year (short of last week's powerful Nor'Easter!)

Photo by Rochelle Joseph

​We will also review the major step forward we reported on last month, for those who were not able to attend --the big Valentines Day meeting at the Refuge that Support the Pink House set up. You can read about in our last blog post by guest blogger Stewart Lytle, a local reporter for the Town Common. ​

Designed by Eric Hoover of NBPTArt.com

These meetings are set up for both volunteers to keep up on the important info, and participate, as well as for the general public who's interested in learning all the news and having their questions answered.​You can also buy bumper stickers, tee shirts and sign our petition at the meeting -all of which helps you do your part to help and to spread the word, with very little effort!

We serve refreshments and snacks, and this month, all who attend will be entered to win a gift card at the end of the meeting (must be present to win). So put it on your calendar - Spread the news! and March is Bring A Friend Month. See you in 2 weeks!

The next meeting, on April 26, will give you a peek at the research being done on the house's history. If any of you have memories of the house, or know someone with area history - whether it's a wealth or a tid bit - please bring them!

Support The Pink House's February Monthly meeting at PITA Hall in Newbury had a lot of big news to report. The reason we have these meetings is because it is such a complex situation that there is no 30 second answer to the many who ask: "What's the latest?"

Reporter Stewart Lytle has come out to several Pink House meetings and events and consistently covered the Pink House story - it's plight and progress. He did a great job of condensing the very big progress that we talked about, and published it as a cover article for the Town Common. We asked if he would be a guest blogger here with that same summary.

​ON THE ROAD TO PLUM ISLAND – With growing community support, particularly among area government officials, supporters of the iconic Pink House are sounding more confident that a solution to the challenge the one-time spite house presents may be on the horizon.

Rochelle Joseph, a leader among the Support the Pink House citizens group, encouraged supporters to have cautious optimism - because though big strides have recently been made, there is much work yet to be done in seeing the progress through to solution.

Rochelle Joseph fills everyone in on the most recent steps forward. Photo by Eric Hoover

Legend has it that the three-bedroom home with more than 2,000 square feet of space was built in 1922 as part of a contentious divorce. The husband, ordered by the court to build for his ex-wife an exact replica of the couple's Newburyport home, had the house constructed on the edge of the marsh without utilities.The house with its pink shingles, vacant and alone against the backdrop of the marsh and sky, has attracted painters and photographers for decades.Joseph, who has spent the last 18 months fighting to keep the house from being demolished with a small Steering Committee, said, “It is part of the community. It is an iconic structure.”The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Parker River National Wildlife Refuge bought the house in 2011 for $375,000 from a family that lived in it for decades. The agency planned to demolish it and use about two acres of high ground for a purpose more in keeping with its mission to preserve wildlife and educate humans about the marsh and its denizens. The Pink House may not fit into that mission.“The federal government owns it. At any given time it could tear it down,” cautioned Steering Committee member Dave Dempsey. But Eric Hoover, another Steering Committee member, was more optimistic. He said, “We are no longer in a panic to keep the house from being demolished. Our mission is now different, but our job is not finished.”Joseph said she is encouraged by the several meetings she has had with Bill Peterson, Manager of the Fish and Wildlife’s Parker River Refuge, the legal owner of the Pink House. She believes he too is looking for a solution to the Pink House challenge as awareness of the public’s overwhelming value of the house has grown.On appropriately symbolic Valentine's Day, the Support the Pink House Steering Committee assembled a meeting of government officials and regional non-profit groups around one table to explore options for the future of the house.At the meeting were state Senators.Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Kathleen O'Connor Ives, D-Newburyport, who actively support saving the Pink House. Morgan Bell, rep for U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-MA, could not attend, but followed up on a conference call with Joseph and Peterson. All have regularly met with the group over the last year. Chairman of the Newbury Board of Selectmen Geoff Walker attended to explore possible involvement by the town in saving the house. Also attending were representatives of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, the Greenbelt, Essex County's Land Trust, and local builder Bill Barrett, who from the start has overseen that the bones of the house remain stable and fortified while negotiations continue.The options include, but were not limited to, a land swap with another federal organization, a non-profit organization or an individual land owner who might trade property of equal value to the Fish and Wildlife in exchange for the Pink House. The property would have to be acreage that the Fish and Wildlife would have a use for. Specific criteria was hammered out at the Valentines Day meeting.

David Dempsey explains the current options to trade the Pink House land on the map. Photo by Stewart Lytle, courtesy of the Town Common newspaper.

Joseph told supporters at the monthly Pink House meeting last week that Fish and Wildlife is conducting two studies on the property. One is an appraisal to set a monetary value for the property. The other is an archeological study to determine if there are historical or Native American artifacts on the property that would preclude any disturbance of the land. Peterson said he was fairly confident it would not be an issue.One option under consideration is to subdivide the property, separating the two acres of dry upland the house sits on near the Plum Island Turnpike from the seven plus acres of wetland on the parcels behind the house. Those seven acres would be protected and are of considerably lower monetary value than the house and higher ground near the highway.The group is also exploring various uses for the Pink House. It could be a low-impact eco-lab for one or more university research teams who are studying the marsh, for example. It could also be the site of occasional outdoor painting sessions or art auctions to raise money for its maintenance. The house could be a combination of art and biology, Hoover said. Or it could exist much like a lighthouse, where a caretaker might quietly live there to maintain the house. “We have a lot of balls in the air,” Dempsey said.Ruled out is the option to publically use the house as a museum or community venue. Joseph said those uses would require too many changes to the structure of the house, including making it handicap accessible, parking issues and high liability.While the options are being considered, the group is seeking ways to have the house protected from the weather and encroachment by the marsh. If it is going to stay in the community, it must be preserved as a stable structure, capable of being refurbished.Barrett and Peterson plan to walk through the home in early March. The town of Newbury building inspector Sam Joslin and conservation agent Doug Packer have also been very helpful in this process.Short term, Joseph said some adjustments and repairs as well as vegetation clearing have been agreed upon with the Refuge to be made early spring to keep weather from causing damage to the house.To follow the Support the Pink House group's progress, visit our Facebook Page.

​In our first year, Support The Pink House was so busy working like lightening to keep the house standing and getting the cause out to all who could help, that we are only now getting a chance to secure the foundation under our efforts!

First up: Data Entry!

Last Saturday, several members of Support the Pink House gathered for the first of two (or three) Data Entry Parties to input all the names from our petitions, surveys, volunteer interest sheets, and the like.

This will allow us to send invites to any future fundraisers, occasional newsletters, committee emails, etc. and easily access the contact info for all who are interested in seeing the Pink House stay. And there are MANY! ​And what would a gathering be without good things to sustain us?

We had fruit, cheese, and just baked banana pumpkin bread - coffee, tea, juice and Pellegrino - and for those who stayed well past lunch, there was pizza and home made antipasto salad.... YES we are trying to entice you to come and join our committees because we do know how to make doing good a VERY good thing!!

A BIG thank you to the volunteers who made this commitment and did a great job!

Data Party #2 is on Saturday, Feb 25, 10am to noon on Plum Island. If data entry is your thing, email us at info@SupporThePinkHouse.com! We look forward to seeing you!

If you'd like to help Support the Pink House, just click on the Contact Link in the menu above and fill out the form. You can also come to our monthly membership meetings, which to day has been held the last Wednesday of each month at 6:45 pm at PITA Hall, 8 Plum Island Turnpike, Newbury, MA.